“So?” he challenged even though he didn’t think that would happen. “We didn’t have a problem offering Sandy a place to stay until she figured things out.”
“Heff was willing to assume total responsibility for Sandy. Are you willing to do the same for Kate?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely. I want her here, with me.”
Church grinned. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that.”
“She’s it for me, man.”
“This isn’t going to gain us any points with the locals,” Church said thoughtfully.
“Since when do we give a shit?” he countered.
“Things could get rocky, and Kate’s going to be right in the thick of it.”
“She’s already in the thick of it—only now, she won’t be alone.”
“No,” Church agreed, “she won’t. All right. We’ll take a vote, and it’s got to be unanimous.”
“Works for me.”
Mad Dog knew Smoke would vote yes because it would make Sam happy, and Heff would back him up because of Sandy. Cage was the only one he wasn’t sure about, but he couldn’t see him being a lone holdout.
Church called everyone in. The vote took less than a minute. Kate was in.
Now, all he had to do was make sure she wanted to stay.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Kate
It was official. Kate had a new job in the Sanctuary kitchen, effective as soon as she was ready—which was immediately as far as she was concerned. She needed something to keep her mind and hands busy, so she didn’t dwell on her family situation.
Her first choice of distracting activities involved getting Chris naked, but since he had a job to do, she could be reasonable, especially since she knew that she’d have him to herself all night. That was definitely worth waiting for.
Kate was already familiar with the kitchen; there wasn’t much of a learning curve. She and Sam did an inventory to give her an idea of what she had to work with in terms of ingredients and whatnot. She couldn’t wait to get started.
“What’s the plan?” she asked Sam, slipping an apron over her head.
Sam laughed, helping her by tying the strings in the back. “Plan? There is no plan. Matt has given us free rein. Our only objective is to create something edible for these guys. Believe me, it’s not hard. They’ll eat just about anything.”
That might be the case, but Kate wanted to do better than just provide them something edible.
“Any allergies we need to be aware of? Gluten? Peanut?”
“Not that anyone’s told me,” Sam replied.
That meant the kitchen was basically an open canvas. Kate was excited and a little nervous, too. Cooking for herself was one thing. Cooking for others was quite another, as she’d discovered by volunteering at the fire hall. Plus, this was her first real job outside of Handelmann’s, and she didn’t want to let anyone down, especially Chris and Sam.
“Relax,” Sam told her. “You’re overthinking it.”
“I just don’t want to screw this up.”
“You won’t.”
Kate appreciated her faith and drew some much-needed courage from it. “Got anything in mind for tonight?”
Sam shrugged. “I have chicken defrosting in the fridge. I haven’t gotten much further than that.”
She thought back to how much Chris had enjoyed her pot pie. It was hot, hearty, and relatively easy. “How about chicken pot pie?”
“Mmm. I haven’t had homemade pot pie since my grandparents passed. Let’s do that!”
“And maybe some double-fudge brownies for dessert?”
“I knew hiring you was a good idea!” Sam grinned.
They got to work. Sam let her take the lead and was a most excellent assistant. Before long, the kitchen was filled with the heavenly aromas of pot pies and brownies baking.
“Last time I made these was for Meals on Wheels,” Kate told her as they cleaned up some of the mess they’d made.
Her grandmother used to say, “The bigger the mess, the better the meal,” and she’d found that to be eerily accurate.
Her mother, on the other hand, didn’t adhere to the same philosophy. Kate could still remember the horror on her mother’s face when she had just been learning how to cook and made her first strudel. There was flour and oil and butter everywhere, and she ruined one of her mother’s good sets of sheets in the process. Her grandmother’s recipe called for dough stretched so thin that they needed bleached white linens to roll it up. From that point on, any recipe with dough had had to be made at her oma’s.
“Who’s doing your route now?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know. The woman who was covering for me flew out to be with her new grandchild, and I think the Ladies Auxiliary has been tapping the volunteer firemen to do the deliveries. I was hoping to get back to it after my father got out of the hospital, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.”
“Why not?”
“Well, as much as I’d like to think I could drive my stick shift with this”—she raised her cast—“I’m not sure I can. Plus, I’m here now, so ...”
“So? Don’t let that stop you. Ask Mad Dog to drive you. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, I couldn’t do that. He’s done so much for me already.”
“Couldn’t do what?” Chris asked, entering the kitchen with Smoke. “It smells amazing in here, ladies. Kate, is that your pot pie?”
She smiled at the hopeful look in his eyes. “It is.”
“We were talking about Kate’s Meals on Wheels route,” Sam answered, “and I said she should ask you to drive her around.”
“Sure, I’m down for that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, why not? Doc’s been chomping at the bit to talk to that guy you were telling him about, too. He could tag along. You could do the intros and leave them to it while we take care of everyone else.”
Her heart swelled. “I love that idea! Mr. O’Farrell was so excited when I told him someone wanted to visit.” And she just knew some of the ladies on her route would love to meet Chris.
“Then, consider it a done deal. Now, when can we eat?” he asked, rubbing his stomach. “I’m starving.”
~ * ~
It didn’t take Kate long to settle into a routine. Everyone was polite and friendly even if she did occasionally sense wariness. She didn’t blame them, especially not since she had a better understanding of the tension between Sanctuary and people she’d known her whole life. However, she was not the type to share secrets or tattle. Not on them, not on anyone. Hopefully, over time, she would earn their trust, and they would realize they had nothing to fear from her.
She liked being at Sanctuary. The primary reason was Chris, of course, but she liked other things, too. The rustic beauty of the place. The sense of freedom and independence and purpose. They were doing something good here, and she was excited to be a part of it.
Plus, her new job was amazing! So much so that it didn’t feel like a job at all. Basically, she was getting paid to do what she loved—play in the kitchen! And working with Sam was a lot of fun. She handled most of the morning stuff and was happy to hand over dinner-planning and prep to Kate. Lunch was generally a seek-and-forage kind of deal. They basically made sure there were plenty DIY and microwavable options readily available for anyone who wandered in midday.